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Almost 25,000 Pro-Marketing Ban Letters Delivered to Commissioner John Dalli

BRUSSELS, Belgium—With the European Union’s upcoming ban on the marketing of animal-tested cosmetics in jeopardy, the nonprofit Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine today delivered nearly 25,000 letters of support for sticking to the deadline.

The letters from EU residents and people around the world to E.C. Commissioner John Dalli call on the European Commission to maintain its 2013 deadline for a ban on the marketing of cosmetic products tested on animals. The ban, passed in 2003, was to become effective in 2013, but some cosmetics companies are pressuring the Comission to delay implementation of the ban. The Commission is expected to announce its final decision by the end of 2011.

“It’s time to stop using animals to test new shades of lipstick and eye shadow,” says Nancy Beck, Ph.D., a PCRM scientific and policy adviser. “The European Commission’s plan gave companies an additional 10 years to develop and adopt nonanimal methods Now, we do have nonanimal methods that can be used in combination to replace these animal tests. With the 2013 deadline finally in sight, the European Commission must uphold its commitment, which is critical to protecting animals and human health.”

If the ban is delayed, tens of thousands of guinea pigs, rabbits, rats, and mice a year will continue being used and killed to test cosmetics. The looming ban has pushed development and adoption of innovative testing methods, and a delay could slow progress on replacing inhumane animal tests with faster and more reliable nonanimal methods.

The governments of Belgium, Sweden and Austria recently reiterated their support for the original deadline. The marketing ban has also drawn support from such celebrities as Alicia Silverstone and True Blood’s Kristin Bauer.

Founded in 1985, the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine is a nonprofit health organization that promotes preventive medicine, conducts clinical research, and encourages higher standards for ethics and effectiveness in research.